Protocol - Night Eating

1. How hungry are you usually in the morning?

0[ ]Not at all

1[ ]A little

2[ ]Somewhat

3[ ]Moderately

4[ ]Very

2. When do you usually eat for the first time?

0[ ]Before 9am

1[ ]9:01 to 12pm

2[ ]12:01 to 3pm

3[ ]3:01 to 6pm

4[ ]6:01 or later

3. Do you have cravings or urges to eat snacks after supper, but before bedtime?

0[ ]Not at all

1[ ]A little

2[ ]Somewhat

3[ ]Very much so

4[ ]Extremely so

4. How much control do you have over your eating between supper and bedtime?

0[ ]None at all

1[ ]A Little

2[ ]Some

3[ ]Very Much

4[ ]Complete

5. How much of your daily food intake do you consume after suppertime?

0[ ]0% (none)

1[ ]1-25% (up to a quarter)

2[ ]26-50% (about half)

3[ ]51-75% (more than half)

4[ ]76-100% (almost all)

6. Are you currently feeling blue or down in the dumps?

0[ ]Not at all

1[ ]A Little

2[ ]Somewhat

3[ ]Very Much So

4[ ]Extremely

7. When you are feeling blue, is your mood lower in the:

0[ ]Early Morning

1[ ]Late Morning

2[ ]Early Afternoon

3[ ]Late Afternoon

4[ ]Evening

______check here if your mood does not change during the day

8. How often do you have trouble getting to sleep?

0[ ]Never

1[ ]Sometimes

2[ ]About Half of the time

3[ ]Usually

4[ ]Always

9. Other than only to use the bathroom, how often do you get up at least once in the

middle of the night?

0[ ]Never

1[ ]Less than once a week

2[ ]About once a week

3[ ]More than once a week

4[ ]Every Night

*********************** IF 0 for #9, PLEASE STOP HERE ************************

10. Do you have cravings or urges to eat snacks when you wake up at night?

0[ ]Not at all

1[ ]A little

2[ ]Somewhat

3[ ]Very much so

4[ ]Extremely so

11. Do you need to eat in order to get back to sleep when you awake at night?

0[ ]Not at all

1[ ]A little

2[ ]Somewhat

3[ ]Very much so

4[ ]Extremely so

12. When you get up in the middle of the night, how often do you snack?

0[ ]Never

1[ ]Sometimes

2[ ]About half the time

3[ ]Usually

4[ ]Always

************************ IF 0 on #12, PLEASE SKIP TO #15 *********************

13. When you snack in the middle of the night, how aware are you of your eating?

0[ ]Not at all

1[ ]A little

2[ ]Somewhat

3[ ]Very much so

4[ ]Completely

14. How much control do you have over your eating while you are up at night?

0[ ]None at all

1[ ]A little

2[ ]Some

3[ ]Very much

4[ ]Complete

15. How long have your current difficulties with night eating been going on?

_______ mos. _______ years

16. Is night eating upsetting to you?

0[ ]Not at all

1[ ]A lot

2[ ]Somewhat

3[ ]Very much so

4[ ]Extremely

17. How much has your night eating affected your life?

0[ ]Not at all

1[ ]A little

2[ ]Somewhat

3[ ]Very much so

4[ ]Extremely

SCORING KEY FOR THE NIGHT EATING QUESTIONNAIRE(NEQ)

A. Items 1, 4 and 14 are reverse scored. Items 1-12 and 14 are summed.

B. Item 13 is not included in the total score, but is used to rule out the parasomnia, Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder (NS-RED).

C. Item 15 is not added to the total score, but instead is used as a descriptor of the course of the symptoms.

D. Items 16 and 17 are used to confirm the presence of distress or impairment if NES is present.

A score of 25 or greater is suggestive of night eating syndrome, and a score of 30 and above is a strong indicator of NES, but we suggest that the answers are reviewed with the patient in an interview before a firm diagnosis is made. For example, many patients with night eating symptoms over-estimate their intake at night. Also, if patients are

depressed in the late evening and have trouble falling asleep, but only minimal night eating, this could inflate their scores.